Today's Deep-Dive: FLOSS issue queue

All right, ready to go deep on something

you might not expect.

A Drupal bug.

A what?

Yeah, you heard that right.

Drupal.

Oh, okay.

I know, I know, you're thinking website stuff.

Well, yeah.

But hold on, this isn't just some random glitch.

Okay.

This bug, this takes us down a rabbit hole,

like how software gets made, how we experience tech,

even security, the whole shebang.

You're not wrong, it does sound kinda niche

when you put it like that.

Niche, maybe, but important, definitely.

For sure, anyone using the internet, which is.

Basically everyone.

Pretty much.

And that's what we do here, right?

Shine a light on the systems we use every single day

and see how even a tiny bug can spiral.

Absolutely.

So what is this bug?

Picture this.

You're on a website, right?

Okay, got it.

And you can see this unpublished page,

you have permission and all.

Makes sense.

But here's the kicker, you can't link to it.

You can see it, but you can't reference it.

It's like some weird information paradox.

You're right, that is weird.

Logically, if you can see something,

shouldn't you be able to link it?

I can see why people are scratching

their heads over this one.

Oh, people are definitely scratching their heads.

Trust me, it's causing some serious frustration.

I bet.

Think about it, you're an editor,

you've got articles all over the place,

some finished, some still drafts.

Right, gotta have drafts.

You wanna connect them, make a nice flow,

but bam, this book throws a wrench in the works.

Ouch.

You can see those drafts, but linking them.

Nope, not a chance.

That just sounds so frustrating.

And from a bigger picture perspective,

doesn't this kind of go against

how information should be organized?

Like, if you can access it,

you should be able to link it, right?

100%.

And when systems act in ways we don't expect,

it just creates friction.

People get frustrated, they lose trust,

and then they're less likely

to use the platform effectively.

Yeah, for sure.

It's all about usability at the end of the day.

And we're not talking about a minor inconvenience here.

I mean, some users are patching their own systems.

Yeah.

Every single update.

Just to get around this thing.

Whoa, that's dedication.

Or maybe desperation.

Probably a bit of both.

It's a huge time sink, all because of this one little bug.

Wow, and I hate to say it,

but it might be even worse than just being annoying.

Think about the security implication.

Oh, right, you mentioned that earlier.

What are we talking about here?

Well, if there's a way to reference

that unpublished content,

even if it's not supposed to be possible.

Someone could exploit that.

Exactly, it's like leaving a back door

wide open to your website.

Information that shouldn't be public suddenly is.

Okay, so now we're talking workflow chaos

and security breaches.

You'd think someone would have fixed this by now, right?

You'd think so, wouldn't you?

But the thing is, software is rarely that simple.

What's the catch?

Backward compatibility.

Any fix, any solution can't break the websites

that rely on the old way of doing things.

Ah, so it's like walking a tightrope.

Basically, you fix it for one group,

you might break it for another.

Talk about a developer's nightmare.

So how do you even begin to tackle a problem like that?

It really is a tough nut to crack, isn't it?

But hey, the Drupal community, they're a resourceful bunch.

There are ideas out there.

Oh, I bet.

What are we talking, like crazy workarounds

or some elegant solution just waiting to be discovered?

Hopefully a little more elegant than that.

Some people, they're all about getting their hands dirty

with the code, you know, make those precise targeted fixes.

So it's like performing surgery on the software,

trying to remove the bug without damaging anything else.

That's a good way to put it.

But remember that backward compatibility thing?

Sometimes even the most precise fix

can cause unexpected problems down the line.

Right, like a domino effect.

You fix one thing and it ends up breaking something else

for someone else.

Exactly, and that's why some folks are pushing

for a different approach, something a bit more,

well, universal.

Okay, I'm intrigued.

What kind of universal solution are we talking about?

Imagine this, a simple little checkbox in the settings,

right there for everyone to see,

something like allow referencing of unpublished content.

Oh, I see where you're going with this.

Give people the choice, enable the function if they want it,

leave it off if they don't, simple.

You got it, but, and there's always a but, isn't there?

This approach comes with its own set of challenges.

It's that age-old trade-off control versus complexity.

Okay, break that down for me.

What makes a checkbox so complicated?

Well, on the one hand, it gives website administrators more control.

They get to decide if they want this functionality enabled or not.

But on the other hand, it also introduces another decision they need to make.

And more decisions usually mean more room for error.

That's it, exactly.

Now, suddenly they need to understand all the ins and outs of this checkbox.

What happens if you check it?

What breaks if you don't?

It's a lot to put on someone's plate, especially if they're not a tech expert.

It's a slippery slope from a simple checkbox to a full blown configuration nightmare.

And it highlights something really important, doesn't it?

This isn't just a technical problem with a technical solution.

It's about finding that sweet spot between functionality,

security, and making things easy for people to use.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

And speaking of making things easy to use,

there's another angle to this whole thing we haven't even touched on yet.

Do tell.

So let's imagine for a second that the developers,

they wave their magic wands and completely fix this bug.

Everyone can reference unpublished content without a hitch.

Problem solved, right.

Sounds too good to be true.

What's the catch this time?

Even if they fix the technical side of things,

there's still the human factor to consider.

Right now, visually, there's no way to tell

the difference between a published article and a draft

when you're looking at a list of potential links.

Oh, I see where you're going with this.

You could accidentally link to something that's not ready for prime time.

Not exactly ideal.

That's putting it mildly.

It's like accidentally sending out a draft email to your entire contact list.

Oof, I've been there.

Not fun.

And it goes to show how important a clear and intuitive user interface really is.

It's not just about making things look pretty.

It's about preventing mistakes and making sure

people can actually use the software in the way it was intended.

This is what blows my mind every time we do one of these deep dives.

We started with this Drupal bug, right?

Something so specific.

But now we're talking about information architecture,

user experience design, the whole nine yards.

It's all connected.

And it just goes to show you sometimes those seemingly small issues,

they can open up a whole can of worms.

Worms that need to be explored.

But before we get too far down the rabbit hole,

let's pause for a second and think about our listeners.

We've thrown a lot of information at them, some pretty technical stuff too.

So let's bring it back down to Earth for a moment.

What does all this mean for someone who's not a coder or a designer?

What's the takeaway message here?

That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

At the end of the day, I think the big takeaway here is this.

We interact with digital systems all the time, right?

Our phones, our computers, even our cars.

And we just kind of assume they'll work the way they're supposed to.

But they don't always work, do they?

Oh, absolutely not.

And this Drupal thing, it's a great example.

It might seem like a small issue on the surface,

but it shows just how complex these systems really are,

even when we don't see it.

Right.

We just take it for granted, click a button, expect a result.

But behind that click, there's a whole lot

of code, a whole lot of decisions that went into making that happen,

or in this case, not happen.

So where do things stand now?

Has someone, anyone, found the holy grail solution to this bug?

Well, not quite a holy grail, but they are working on it.

The Drupal community is on the case.

That's something, at least.

So it's not just going to be ignored, brushed under the rug.

No, not at all.

And that's one of the things I find so fascinating about this case.

It really highlights the power of open source software.

Here, you have a community of developers, users, everyone

coming together to try to solve a problem.

I'm like global brainstorming session.

Yeah.

And all because of this one little bug.

You've got it.

Though I think little might be a bit of an understatement by now.

The more we dig into this, the more we realize it's not so little,

after all, is it?

Not at all.

It's a whole rabbit hole of complexity.

But isn't that always the way?

It's like the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.

Truth.

But that's OK.

That's where the excitement is.

Right.

It keeps things interesting.

So for our listeners who are still with us, still absorbing all of this,

what's the one thing you want them to remember?

The call to action, if you will.

Let's see.

I think the most important thing is this.

The next time you run into something online,

maybe it's a weird bug, a frustrating design, anything

that just doesn't seem quite right.

Don't just accept it.

Exactly.

Don't just shrug and move on.

Get curious.

Ask yourself, why is this like this?

What went into making it this way?

Because you never know.

You might just uncover a whole world

of fascinating complexity hiding right there

beneath the surface.

Or maybe, just maybe, you'll come up

with a brilliant solution that no one else has thought of.

That's the dream, isn't it?

To go from passive user to active innovator.

And on that note, I think we've explored just

about every nook and cranny of this Drupal bug.

We've talked about information architecture, user experience,

even a little bit of philosophy along the way.

And a good dose of cautionary tale, too.

Can't forget that.

and keep diving deep into the fascinating world

and keep diving deep into the fascinating world